The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress set tongues wagging when he said that losers should accept the pain of rigging for democracy to flourish.

In his words, Adams Oshiomhole said: “I think that for democracy to flourish, only people who can accept the pain of rigging, (sorry defeat), should participate in an election, because there must be a winner and there must be a loser.”

Mr Oshiomhole, a former Governor of Edo State made the embarrassing gaffe hours after the results of the Osun election.

“Oshiomole has confirmed what most people of goodwill know – #OsunWasRigged,” Chidi Odinkalu, a lawyer and human right activist posted on Twitter.

The Osun elections were declared in favour of Gboyega Oyetola, the APC candidate, although his contender Ademola Adeleke, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was holding the lead on Saturday before the election was declared inconclusive and a rerun was scheduled for Thursday (September 27, 2018).

Many observers, including the EU, US and UK witnessed an election marred with violence and vote buying.

They also condemned the heavy deployment of soldiers by the ruling government, adding that there were “incidence of interference and intimidation of voters.”